Post by Pat on Oct 7, 2017 20:45:02 GMT -7
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2084 with a release date of Friday, October 6 2017 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. India does emergency planning with the nation's hams. Pennsylvania preps for a friendly QSO party -- and a Tennessee Net does things old school. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2084 comes your way right now.
(Billboard Cart Here and Intro)
**
INDIAN GOVERNMENT TO HELP HAMS' DISASTER PREP
JIM/ANCHOR: We begin this week's newscast with word that the Indian government is giving higher priority to ham involvement. The urgent need for amateur radio operators throughout the year in India, especially during periods of dangerous weather, has prompted government leaders to incorporate hams into more of their disaster planning. Jeremy Boot G4NJH has that report.
JEREMY: Sometime before the end of the year, the government of the Indian state of Pune expects to roll out an effort to efficiently coordinate deployment of area ham radio operators through district collectorates during emergencies such as landslides, earthquakes and floods and to assist in public safety support during cultural functions and religious pilgrimages when traffic levels are high.
The state's disaster management director Rajiv Nivatkar outlined the plan in a recent report in The Times of India, acknowledging that the project still is unfunded but officials hope to move it forward by the end of the year.
All state governments have received instructions from the National Disaster Management Authority asking officials to allocate agencies and arrange for the training of volunteers.
In the state of Maharashtra, the initiative is already under way in Sindhudurg where district leaders have trained about 20 amateurs for such assistance.
An estimated 50,000 ham radio operators are believed to be active throughout India.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
(THE TIMES OF INDIA)
**
COMMUNICATION STATION MARKS 50 YEARS
JIM/ANCHOR: Radio transmissions have always been a mainstay of one station in western Australia, where communications have occurred in the low frequency part of the spectrum for half a century. Here's Graham Kemp VK4BB with the details.
GRAHAM: For 50 years, radio signals have been transmitted at very low frequencies from an antenna array in western Australia, in an area covering more than 1 thousand U.S. acres. This is the Harold E. Holt Naval Communication Station in the shire of Exmouth. Commissioned in 1967, it was transferred in 1992 from the command of the U.S. Navy to the Royal Australian Navy. Its original purpose was to give the U.S. Navy the ability to communicate with its submarines and other vessels in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans.
On the 16th of September, the station marked 50 years of operation in which it has and continues to play a highly strategic role in the still-vibrant relationship between the U.S. and Australia, supporting both nations' military vessels.
Exmouth residents and officials marked the event with a full weekend of celebrations since the shire's establishment is so tightly linked to the station's creation a half-century ago.
The station itself operates with 13 towers where the tallest antenna among the array stands nearly 400 meters above ground.
The station is named for the former Australian prime minister who was presumed to have drowned mysteriously in 1967 at the age of 59 while swimming off the coast of Victoria.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Graham Kemp VK4BB.
(WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, THE WEST AUSTRALIAN)
**
ZOMBIE SHUFFLE CONTEST SCARES UP CONTACTS
JIM/ANCHOR: There's a Halloween-themed CW contest later this month and it's frightful fun -- at least that's what we hear from Don Wilbanks AE5DW.
DON: With Halloween only a few weeks away, we have to ask: do you believe in zombies? Perhaps when you're on the air you might even be mistaken for one. No, that's not an insult - it's the description for a highly prized operating method that comes in quite handy during this year's Zombie Shuffle on Friday the 20th of October. Zombies, you see, don't sprint -- they shuffle - hence the name for this eight-hour QRP contest.
It's designed mainly for North and South American operators using CW and it's marking its 20th year of operations among the undead. To participate, you'll need to be assigned a Zombie Number, which you can obtain free. Visit the Amateur Radio Newsline website at arnewsline.org for details and a link to the page.
Be not afraid! Dust off your key and get out there and scare up some contacts.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Don Wilbanks AE5DW.
LINK: www.zianet.com/qrp/zombie/2017/pg.htm
**
NETS OF NOTE: MOUNT JULIET SIMPLEX NET
JIM/ANCHOR: Our next report is part of our occasional series, Nets of Note. This week's net meets on 2 meters the old-school way. Simplex! Here's Neil Rapp WB9VPG with more.
NEIL: On this weeks Nets of Note, we take a look at a simplex net near Nashville, Tennessee. Paul Wieloszynski (Will oh zen ski), K4PEW, started the Mount Juliet Simplex Net, which has also become a club. The Mount Juliet Simplex Society is one of two registered ARRL Affiliated Clubs that focus on simplex communications. The idea for the net came from Pauls time in New York.
PAUL: I got into ham radio and predominantly ended up on repeaters just due to the nature of there weren't many places to talk on simplex, nor did I give it much thought... that was when I was living in Florida. I moved to New York for a couple of years, Western New York, and there was just a whole bunch of people talking on simplex. I asked them about it. I said, "Why don't you just get on the repeater?" They said, Well, we kind of like the privacy. We dont like the oversight, so to speak. Its not that they were a nasty group of people, but it was just easier and simpler just to be on simplex... not bothering anybody else. And I liked that concept. I picked it up there, and when I moved to Tennessee, I said I think Ill do the same.
NEIL: One of the things that makes this net different is that it tries to give Simplextons, as they are called, more than one chance a week to participate in a fun net because they are often busy.
PAUL: Twice a week is when we meet. And if they want to come in twice a week, good. If they want to just stop in once a week, good. And the joke on the net is that were the only net that I know of that gives you chance for two opportunities to miss the net.
NEIL: Paul says that there are many ways a simplex net can better train hams for communicating.
PAUL: Number 1... Ive been saying that local simplex nets gets hams to a) communicate properly, b) understand who can hear them, c) understands who they can hear. It induces them to build better stations. And, it builds a local community of hams who are better prepared to serve the community.
NEIL: The Mount Juliet Simplex Net meets on 146.415 MHz at 8 pm Central time on Sundays and Wednesdays, and will soon be changing to Saturdays and Wednesdays. You can find out more at their web site, 146415.net. For Amateur Radio Newsline, Im Neil Rapp, WB9VPG.
**
K2BSA SCOUTS ACTIVATE 6 STATIONS
JIM/ANCHOR: There's no rest for Radio Scouts who are busy activating the K2BSA call sign at six locations and counting the days until Jamboree on the Air. Bill Stearns NE4RD has the details.
BILL: This week in radio scouting we're just two weeks away from Jamboree on the Air. We have 6 activations of the K2BSA callsign scheduled during JOTA so far, and here they are:
Shawn Wolfe, W8SJW, will have K2BSA/3 on from Camp Potomac in Oldtown, MD.
Elden Morris, N1MN, will have K2BSA/4 on from the Atlanta Area Council Volunteer Service Center in Atlanta, GA.
Terry Gimble, W5TG, will have K2BSA/5 on from the East Texas Area Council in Tyler, Tx.
Chris Clark, W6CBC, will have K2BSA/6 on from Camp Emerson in Idyllwild, CA.
Craig Morrison, N7MHE, will have K2BSA/7 on from the LDS Stake Center in Moses Lake, WA.
Charles Koehler, N9VJ, will have K2BSA/9 on from the Milwaukee Scout Service Center in Milwaukee, WI.
As of October 1st, there have been almost 1,900 stations registered internationally and 257 of those are in the United States. Please get your station registered so that you can be counted and others can find you. Icom America has once again this year donated an ID-51A Plus 2 to encourage stations to file their reports after Jamboreee on the Air. Everyone who files a report will have their names entered into the drawing. We'll open up the reporting system on JOTA weekend. For more information on filing your report, see our website.
It's probably getting a little too late to be host station at this point, however consider helping an existing station in your area or help by getting on the radio and working some scouts.
For more information on Jamboree on the Air or Radio Scouting, please visit our website at www.k2bsa.net.
For Amateur Radio Newsline and the K2BSA Amateur Radio Association this is Bill Stearns, NE4RD.
**
Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline heard on bulletin stations around the world including the NI4SR repeater in Wilmington, North Carolina on Wednesday nights at 8:30.
**
ASTRONAUTS ARE STARS ON NASA TV
JIM/ANCHOR: Some of the stars in the sky are also on television. Three of them are Space Station astronauts -- and two of them happen to be hams. Christian Cudnik K0STH has more on this story.
CHRISTIAN: You think there's nothing on TV? Think again! Tune into NASA Television as well as the NASA website for the latest episode of "hams in space." Astronauts Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP and Joe Acaba KE5DAR are going outside the International Space Station along with their expedition commander Randy Bresnik on the 5th, 10th and 18th of October. This is strictly a business trip for the three American astronauts of Expedition 53: they have important station maintenance to do. Check the NASA website for local times in your part of the world.
While Joe and Randy are veterans of a few spacewalks, this will be the first for Mark, the flight engineer. Joe will join his two crew colleagues on the third and final spacewalk on the 18th.
You can watch it all at nasa dot gov forwardslash nasalive (nasa.gov/nasalive)
Best of all, there'll be no commercial interruptions.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Christian Cudnik K0STH
**
YOU'RE INVITED TO A PENNSYLVANIA QSO PARTY
JIM/ANCHOR: It's the second biggest QSO party in the nation and it will hit the bands the second weekend in October. Mark Abramowicz ( Abramo-vich ) NT3V has a preview.
MARK'S REPORT: The Pennsylvania QSO Party, run by the Nittany Amateur Radio Club in State College - the home of Penn State - runs the weekend of Oct. 14 and 15th.
It's earned the label - the "Friendly QSO Party" - because it encourages non-contest stations and first-timers to get on the air and just have some fun making contacts.
In fact, the contesters who do use the PA Party as a tune-up for the CQ Worldwide SSB contest at the end of the month tend to be a little more understanding of the newbies and will slow down for the exchanges.
Mike Coslo, N3LI, PA QSO Party chairman, says a club whose members have a long history of amateur radio contesting will be in charge of the bonus station operation.
"Frankford Radio Club will be our bonus station," Coslo says. "They're having their 90th anniversary this year. So it will be multi-station, multi-call sign, multi-county effort."
And, to mark the occasion, Coslo says the club is going all out to make its presence heard on the air...
"We'll have their base call, W3FRC, and then some special event call signs like W3F, W3R, and W3C," Coslo says. "And, this should provide for a lot of different bonus contacts."
The FRC will activate 17 bonus stations in 15 Pennsylvania counties.
Coslo says, given how propogation is at this time of the year, the 200 points for each bonus station contact per band, per mode can add up...
Look up PA QSO Party in a Google search and that will get you right to the club's website.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in Philadelphia.
**
QSOs OF FAITH AND FRIENDSHIP
JIM/ANCHOR: Ever activate a church or a chapel? A number of amateur radio groups around the world believe it's a great way to call attention to their churches and the religious community that adds wattage to their power of the spirit. Here's more from Kevin Trotman N5PRE.
KEVIN: From Belgium to New York State in the U.S., and in a great many counties in the UK, amateur radio operators were sharing their hobby - and their faith. Churches on the Air, which is run by the World Association of Christian Radio Amateurs and Listeners, is an annual global event that makes the world a little bit smaller for a few hours, connecting people of faith via RF signals and antennas. At the St. Ive Methodist Church in Cornwall, Mark M0WMB was among those making contacts with Brazil, Kuwait, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia and Morocco on the 9th of September as GB5IVE. In New York, the Peekskill Cortlandt Manor Amateur Radio Association W2NYW operated from Old St. Peter's Church in Cortlandt Manor, organized by David K2WPM. The New York church was also marking its 250th anniversary.
As Mark in the UK told a reporter for the Cornish Times, although the main purpose of any church is for worship, a ham radio activation also emphasizes the congregation and its importance. "I believe that the church is the people, not the building. We are losing so many of our buildings and it would be good to encourage others to use their church for events like ours."
For Amateur Radio Newsline, in Aiken, South Carolina, I'm Kevin Trotman N5PRE.
(THE CORNISH TIMES)
**
TUNISIA LEGALIZES INDIVIDUAL LICENSES
JIM/ANCHOR: There are some major changes for amateur radio operators in Tunisia as we hear from John Williams VK4JJW.
JOHN's REPORT: In Tunisia, only club stations could once be licensed for amateur radio operations. Now individual Tunisians who pass a qualifying exam can get a license of their own -- and those who already have a license from another country can operate legally on the air. All of this became possible in September under new licensing arrangements decreed by the nation's Ministry of Telecommunications. Resident foreigners are also permitted to apply for a license.
The previous regime had viewed individual ham radio operators unfavorably, according to the website of the International Amateur Radio Union. A radio association called ARAT was created by young Tunisians in 2011 following the Jasmin Revolution. ARAT's recognition by the government encouraged other radio organizations to form. ARAT is a recognized member of the IARU.
ARAT is credited with being one of the strongest proponents for individual licenses and drafting a document to create the new licensing system. The group discussed with ASTRA, another recognized association of Tunisian amateurs, and establishing a rapport with the ministry and the National Agency of Frequencies.
Last month's decree now appears in the Official Journal of the Tunisian Republic and new individual license-holders will soon start appearing on the air.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm John Williams VK4JJW.
(IARU REGION 1)
**
WORLD OF DX
JIM/ANCHOR: In the World of DX, listen for Roly ZL1BQD using the callsign 4W6RR in East Timor. He is on the air until the 10th of October mainly on CW and Digital on 20 and 40m. QSL to the home call.
Christmas Island is being activated by a group of Australian amateurs using the call sign VK9XI until the 10th of October. They are on all bands 160 10m on SSB, CW and RTTY. Their QSL manager is M0OXO.
(IRTS)
**
KICKER: ROUNDUP BY RADIO
JIM/ANCHOR: Time to saddle up for our final story which combines ham radio and.....horse rescue! For that tale, we turn to Mike Askins KE5CXP.
MIKE'S REPORT: It's no secret that hams are good at finding things. There are the hidden transmitters deployed in fox hunts. There are missing persons at massive public gatherings. And then there is the story of Melody the horse. The mare went missing last month from an Arizona campground near Sedona where a group of horse owners from Phoenix had been staying.
This called for a very special kind of roundup - one horse and a team of amateur radio operators including those from the Verde Valley Amateur Radio Association. The hams learned of the missing equine during their regular 7 a.m. meetup on the Knobby Knee Net. Net control op Bill Burkett KE7IXS took the radio call from one of the campers, Greg LaCrosse K1GRL, and that set the search in motion - not just on the ground, but in the air and yes, even in the saddle.
Jeff Upshaw KC7UYY, a local horseman, rode out to the trailhead with other mounted searchers. Mike Mladejovsky WA7ARK flew in with his Cessna Skylane aircraft and took Melody's owner Marcy aboard. The team's search had gone into its 10th fruitless hour when finally Marcy spotted her horse down below the plane and pilot Mike radioed the searchers on the ground.
Kenny Westmoreland KG7YVM and Jeff hiked to a flat-topped mountain where they caught up with Melody and led her to safety. As in all westerns with happy endings, they headed off together into the sunset.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mike Askins KE5CXP.
(VERDE VALLEY NEWSPAPERS)
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; Amateur News Weekly; the ARRL; the Associated Press; Churches on the Air; The Cornish Times; CQ Magazine; The FCC; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; IARU Region 1; Irish Radio Transmitters Society; K2BSA; NASA; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; The Times of India; Verde Valley Newspapers; the West Australian; Wireless Institute of Australia; WTWW Shortwave; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. Please send emails to our address at newsline@arnewsline.org. More information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline's only official website located at www.arnewsline.org.
For now, with Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT, at the news desk in New York, and our news team worldwide, I'm Jim Damron N8TMW saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening.
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2017. All rights reserved.
The following is a QST. India does emergency planning with the nation's hams. Pennsylvania preps for a friendly QSO party -- and a Tennessee Net does things old school. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2084 comes your way right now.
(Billboard Cart Here and Intro)
**
INDIAN GOVERNMENT TO HELP HAMS' DISASTER PREP
JIM/ANCHOR: We begin this week's newscast with word that the Indian government is giving higher priority to ham involvement. The urgent need for amateur radio operators throughout the year in India, especially during periods of dangerous weather, has prompted government leaders to incorporate hams into more of their disaster planning. Jeremy Boot G4NJH has that report.
JEREMY: Sometime before the end of the year, the government of the Indian state of Pune expects to roll out an effort to efficiently coordinate deployment of area ham radio operators through district collectorates during emergencies such as landslides, earthquakes and floods and to assist in public safety support during cultural functions and religious pilgrimages when traffic levels are high.
The state's disaster management director Rajiv Nivatkar outlined the plan in a recent report in The Times of India, acknowledging that the project still is unfunded but officials hope to move it forward by the end of the year.
All state governments have received instructions from the National Disaster Management Authority asking officials to allocate agencies and arrange for the training of volunteers.
In the state of Maharashtra, the initiative is already under way in Sindhudurg where district leaders have trained about 20 amateurs for such assistance.
An estimated 50,000 ham radio operators are believed to be active throughout India.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
(THE TIMES OF INDIA)
**
COMMUNICATION STATION MARKS 50 YEARS
JIM/ANCHOR: Radio transmissions have always been a mainstay of one station in western Australia, where communications have occurred in the low frequency part of the spectrum for half a century. Here's Graham Kemp VK4BB with the details.
GRAHAM: For 50 years, radio signals have been transmitted at very low frequencies from an antenna array in western Australia, in an area covering more than 1 thousand U.S. acres. This is the Harold E. Holt Naval Communication Station in the shire of Exmouth. Commissioned in 1967, it was transferred in 1992 from the command of the U.S. Navy to the Royal Australian Navy. Its original purpose was to give the U.S. Navy the ability to communicate with its submarines and other vessels in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans.
On the 16th of September, the station marked 50 years of operation in which it has and continues to play a highly strategic role in the still-vibrant relationship between the U.S. and Australia, supporting both nations' military vessels.
Exmouth residents and officials marked the event with a full weekend of celebrations since the shire's establishment is so tightly linked to the station's creation a half-century ago.
The station itself operates with 13 towers where the tallest antenna among the array stands nearly 400 meters above ground.
The station is named for the former Australian prime minister who was presumed to have drowned mysteriously in 1967 at the age of 59 while swimming off the coast of Victoria.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Graham Kemp VK4BB.
(WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, THE WEST AUSTRALIAN)
**
ZOMBIE SHUFFLE CONTEST SCARES UP CONTACTS
JIM/ANCHOR: There's a Halloween-themed CW contest later this month and it's frightful fun -- at least that's what we hear from Don Wilbanks AE5DW.
DON: With Halloween only a few weeks away, we have to ask: do you believe in zombies? Perhaps when you're on the air you might even be mistaken for one. No, that's not an insult - it's the description for a highly prized operating method that comes in quite handy during this year's Zombie Shuffle on Friday the 20th of October. Zombies, you see, don't sprint -- they shuffle - hence the name for this eight-hour QRP contest.
It's designed mainly for North and South American operators using CW and it's marking its 20th year of operations among the undead. To participate, you'll need to be assigned a Zombie Number, which you can obtain free. Visit the Amateur Radio Newsline website at arnewsline.org for details and a link to the page.
Be not afraid! Dust off your key and get out there and scare up some contacts.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Don Wilbanks AE5DW.
LINK: www.zianet.com/qrp/zombie/2017/pg.htm
**
NETS OF NOTE: MOUNT JULIET SIMPLEX NET
JIM/ANCHOR: Our next report is part of our occasional series, Nets of Note. This week's net meets on 2 meters the old-school way. Simplex! Here's Neil Rapp WB9VPG with more.
NEIL: On this weeks Nets of Note, we take a look at a simplex net near Nashville, Tennessee. Paul Wieloszynski (Will oh zen ski), K4PEW, started the Mount Juliet Simplex Net, which has also become a club. The Mount Juliet Simplex Society is one of two registered ARRL Affiliated Clubs that focus on simplex communications. The idea for the net came from Pauls time in New York.
PAUL: I got into ham radio and predominantly ended up on repeaters just due to the nature of there weren't many places to talk on simplex, nor did I give it much thought... that was when I was living in Florida. I moved to New York for a couple of years, Western New York, and there was just a whole bunch of people talking on simplex. I asked them about it. I said, "Why don't you just get on the repeater?" They said, Well, we kind of like the privacy. We dont like the oversight, so to speak. Its not that they were a nasty group of people, but it was just easier and simpler just to be on simplex... not bothering anybody else. And I liked that concept. I picked it up there, and when I moved to Tennessee, I said I think Ill do the same.
NEIL: One of the things that makes this net different is that it tries to give Simplextons, as they are called, more than one chance a week to participate in a fun net because they are often busy.
PAUL: Twice a week is when we meet. And if they want to come in twice a week, good. If they want to just stop in once a week, good. And the joke on the net is that were the only net that I know of that gives you chance for two opportunities to miss the net.
NEIL: Paul says that there are many ways a simplex net can better train hams for communicating.
PAUL: Number 1... Ive been saying that local simplex nets gets hams to a) communicate properly, b) understand who can hear them, c) understands who they can hear. It induces them to build better stations. And, it builds a local community of hams who are better prepared to serve the community.
NEIL: The Mount Juliet Simplex Net meets on 146.415 MHz at 8 pm Central time on Sundays and Wednesdays, and will soon be changing to Saturdays and Wednesdays. You can find out more at their web site, 146415.net. For Amateur Radio Newsline, Im Neil Rapp, WB9VPG.
**
K2BSA SCOUTS ACTIVATE 6 STATIONS
JIM/ANCHOR: There's no rest for Radio Scouts who are busy activating the K2BSA call sign at six locations and counting the days until Jamboree on the Air. Bill Stearns NE4RD has the details.
BILL: This week in radio scouting we're just two weeks away from Jamboree on the Air. We have 6 activations of the K2BSA callsign scheduled during JOTA so far, and here they are:
Shawn Wolfe, W8SJW, will have K2BSA/3 on from Camp Potomac in Oldtown, MD.
Elden Morris, N1MN, will have K2BSA/4 on from the Atlanta Area Council Volunteer Service Center in Atlanta, GA.
Terry Gimble, W5TG, will have K2BSA/5 on from the East Texas Area Council in Tyler, Tx.
Chris Clark, W6CBC, will have K2BSA/6 on from Camp Emerson in Idyllwild, CA.
Craig Morrison, N7MHE, will have K2BSA/7 on from the LDS Stake Center in Moses Lake, WA.
Charles Koehler, N9VJ, will have K2BSA/9 on from the Milwaukee Scout Service Center in Milwaukee, WI.
As of October 1st, there have been almost 1,900 stations registered internationally and 257 of those are in the United States. Please get your station registered so that you can be counted and others can find you. Icom America has once again this year donated an ID-51A Plus 2 to encourage stations to file their reports after Jamboreee on the Air. Everyone who files a report will have their names entered into the drawing. We'll open up the reporting system on JOTA weekend. For more information on filing your report, see our website.
It's probably getting a little too late to be host station at this point, however consider helping an existing station in your area or help by getting on the radio and working some scouts.
For more information on Jamboree on the Air or Radio Scouting, please visit our website at www.k2bsa.net.
For Amateur Radio Newsline and the K2BSA Amateur Radio Association this is Bill Stearns, NE4RD.
**
Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline heard on bulletin stations around the world including the NI4SR repeater in Wilmington, North Carolina on Wednesday nights at 8:30.
**
ASTRONAUTS ARE STARS ON NASA TV
JIM/ANCHOR: Some of the stars in the sky are also on television. Three of them are Space Station astronauts -- and two of them happen to be hams. Christian Cudnik K0STH has more on this story.
CHRISTIAN: You think there's nothing on TV? Think again! Tune into NASA Television as well as the NASA website for the latest episode of "hams in space." Astronauts Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP and Joe Acaba KE5DAR are going outside the International Space Station along with their expedition commander Randy Bresnik on the 5th, 10th and 18th of October. This is strictly a business trip for the three American astronauts of Expedition 53: they have important station maintenance to do. Check the NASA website for local times in your part of the world.
While Joe and Randy are veterans of a few spacewalks, this will be the first for Mark, the flight engineer. Joe will join his two crew colleagues on the third and final spacewalk on the 18th.
You can watch it all at nasa dot gov forwardslash nasalive (nasa.gov/nasalive)
Best of all, there'll be no commercial interruptions.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Christian Cudnik K0STH
**
YOU'RE INVITED TO A PENNSYLVANIA QSO PARTY
JIM/ANCHOR: It's the second biggest QSO party in the nation and it will hit the bands the second weekend in October. Mark Abramowicz ( Abramo-vich ) NT3V has a preview.
MARK'S REPORT: The Pennsylvania QSO Party, run by the Nittany Amateur Radio Club in State College - the home of Penn State - runs the weekend of Oct. 14 and 15th.
It's earned the label - the "Friendly QSO Party" - because it encourages non-contest stations and first-timers to get on the air and just have some fun making contacts.
In fact, the contesters who do use the PA Party as a tune-up for the CQ Worldwide SSB contest at the end of the month tend to be a little more understanding of the newbies and will slow down for the exchanges.
Mike Coslo, N3LI, PA QSO Party chairman, says a club whose members have a long history of amateur radio contesting will be in charge of the bonus station operation.
"Frankford Radio Club will be our bonus station," Coslo says. "They're having their 90th anniversary this year. So it will be multi-station, multi-call sign, multi-county effort."
And, to mark the occasion, Coslo says the club is going all out to make its presence heard on the air...
"We'll have their base call, W3FRC, and then some special event call signs like W3F, W3R, and W3C," Coslo says. "And, this should provide for a lot of different bonus contacts."
The FRC will activate 17 bonus stations in 15 Pennsylvania counties.
Coslo says, given how propogation is at this time of the year, the 200 points for each bonus station contact per band, per mode can add up...
Look up PA QSO Party in a Google search and that will get you right to the club's website.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in Philadelphia.
**
QSOs OF FAITH AND FRIENDSHIP
JIM/ANCHOR: Ever activate a church or a chapel? A number of amateur radio groups around the world believe it's a great way to call attention to their churches and the religious community that adds wattage to their power of the spirit. Here's more from Kevin Trotman N5PRE.
KEVIN: From Belgium to New York State in the U.S., and in a great many counties in the UK, amateur radio operators were sharing their hobby - and their faith. Churches on the Air, which is run by the World Association of Christian Radio Amateurs and Listeners, is an annual global event that makes the world a little bit smaller for a few hours, connecting people of faith via RF signals and antennas. At the St. Ive Methodist Church in Cornwall, Mark M0WMB was among those making contacts with Brazil, Kuwait, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia and Morocco on the 9th of September as GB5IVE. In New York, the Peekskill Cortlandt Manor Amateur Radio Association W2NYW operated from Old St. Peter's Church in Cortlandt Manor, organized by David K2WPM. The New York church was also marking its 250th anniversary.
As Mark in the UK told a reporter for the Cornish Times, although the main purpose of any church is for worship, a ham radio activation also emphasizes the congregation and its importance. "I believe that the church is the people, not the building. We are losing so many of our buildings and it would be good to encourage others to use their church for events like ours."
For Amateur Radio Newsline, in Aiken, South Carolina, I'm Kevin Trotman N5PRE.
(THE CORNISH TIMES)
**
TUNISIA LEGALIZES INDIVIDUAL LICENSES
JIM/ANCHOR: There are some major changes for amateur radio operators in Tunisia as we hear from John Williams VK4JJW.
JOHN's REPORT: In Tunisia, only club stations could once be licensed for amateur radio operations. Now individual Tunisians who pass a qualifying exam can get a license of their own -- and those who already have a license from another country can operate legally on the air. All of this became possible in September under new licensing arrangements decreed by the nation's Ministry of Telecommunications. Resident foreigners are also permitted to apply for a license.
The previous regime had viewed individual ham radio operators unfavorably, according to the website of the International Amateur Radio Union. A radio association called ARAT was created by young Tunisians in 2011 following the Jasmin Revolution. ARAT's recognition by the government encouraged other radio organizations to form. ARAT is a recognized member of the IARU.
ARAT is credited with being one of the strongest proponents for individual licenses and drafting a document to create the new licensing system. The group discussed with ASTRA, another recognized association of Tunisian amateurs, and establishing a rapport with the ministry and the National Agency of Frequencies.
Last month's decree now appears in the Official Journal of the Tunisian Republic and new individual license-holders will soon start appearing on the air.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm John Williams VK4JJW.
(IARU REGION 1)
**
WORLD OF DX
JIM/ANCHOR: In the World of DX, listen for Roly ZL1BQD using the callsign 4W6RR in East Timor. He is on the air until the 10th of October mainly on CW and Digital on 20 and 40m. QSL to the home call.
Christmas Island is being activated by a group of Australian amateurs using the call sign VK9XI until the 10th of October. They are on all bands 160 10m on SSB, CW and RTTY. Their QSL manager is M0OXO.
(IRTS)
**
KICKER: ROUNDUP BY RADIO
JIM/ANCHOR: Time to saddle up for our final story which combines ham radio and.....horse rescue! For that tale, we turn to Mike Askins KE5CXP.
MIKE'S REPORT: It's no secret that hams are good at finding things. There are the hidden transmitters deployed in fox hunts. There are missing persons at massive public gatherings. And then there is the story of Melody the horse. The mare went missing last month from an Arizona campground near Sedona where a group of horse owners from Phoenix had been staying.
This called for a very special kind of roundup - one horse and a team of amateur radio operators including those from the Verde Valley Amateur Radio Association. The hams learned of the missing equine during their regular 7 a.m. meetup on the Knobby Knee Net. Net control op Bill Burkett KE7IXS took the radio call from one of the campers, Greg LaCrosse K1GRL, and that set the search in motion - not just on the ground, but in the air and yes, even in the saddle.
Jeff Upshaw KC7UYY, a local horseman, rode out to the trailhead with other mounted searchers. Mike Mladejovsky WA7ARK flew in with his Cessna Skylane aircraft and took Melody's owner Marcy aboard. The team's search had gone into its 10th fruitless hour when finally Marcy spotted her horse down below the plane and pilot Mike radioed the searchers on the ground.
Kenny Westmoreland KG7YVM and Jeff hiked to a flat-topped mountain where they caught up with Melody and led her to safety. As in all westerns with happy endings, they headed off together into the sunset.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mike Askins KE5CXP.
(VERDE VALLEY NEWSPAPERS)
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; Amateur News Weekly; the ARRL; the Associated Press; Churches on the Air; The Cornish Times; CQ Magazine; The FCC; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; IARU Region 1; Irish Radio Transmitters Society; K2BSA; NASA; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; The Times of India; Verde Valley Newspapers; the West Australian; Wireless Institute of Australia; WTWW Shortwave; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. Please send emails to our address at newsline@arnewsline.org. More information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline's only official website located at www.arnewsline.org.
For now, with Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT, at the news desk in New York, and our news team worldwide, I'm Jim Damron N8TMW saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening.
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2017. All rights reserved.
